The very good is that I got to fly today with my kids on Sand Key beach in Florida. In the 50's and quite windy (I know that's warmer than Chicago, but still very cold after a couple hours with no gloves and only a windbreaker).

Even better is my daughter tried out the vented when my son wasn't flying it, and she had it somewhat controlled after a bit of practice. She hasn't figured out the brakes yet to avoid crashing hard into the ground, which is a bit unnerving to me since I'm watching my nice vented smash repeatedly into the sand. But, she made dad happy inside later on. She got all grumpy when my son came back and wanted to fly again (she did not want to stop). We may have another IKEr in the near future . . . I hope.

The bad is . . . when I was putting away the full sail 1.5 I was flying, I noticed a slight tear in the mesh right below the leading edge (where the mesh and leading edge meet). It's where the fold in the kite is located, and probably less than an inch at this point. Any tips on repairing the rip before it gets worse? I'm wondering if crazy glue will work, or if I need to reinforce it with some kind of patch.

Can you post a picture of the tear? There are several fixes that will last a long time, but which one you do depends on exactly where the tear is located. Super glue works great on the nylon/poly fabric, but not so great on the screening.

One thing to help prevent tearing is to move the fold line a little each time. Pull the rods out enough so that there are a few inches of leading edge beyond the center rod when folded. When the rods are just barely separated, and then the kite is folded, it puts lots of stress on the fold line. Also, roll the kite up loosely ... or at least not very tight!

Thanks for the replies. I may have to get my mother's old sewing machine out of storage and give it a go. Do i need to get any special thread? Maybe I'll post up a picture later today as suggested.

I think this may also have started when I packed up the kites in a suitcase to travel down here. I put the spars in a mailing tube and the sails in a suitcase so we'd avoid issues at security. I didn't roll them up tightly, but it's possible/probable that the mesh was stressed by the compression in the suitcase and then the higher wind flying pushed it over the edge. I'm going to try to bring them home without packing them away & I'll see what the Tampa airport security has to say.

goestoeleven wrote:... I think this may also have started when I packed up the kites in a suitcase to travel down here. I put the spars in a mailing tube and the sails in a suitcase so we'd avoid issues at security. ...

I use the same approach. To prevent the chance of creasing the kites in your suitcase, roll the kites (from side to side) up around a piece of water pipe foam.

Most any poly thread will work. Coats & Clark sells an outdoor UV protected thread that will be an excellent choice - Wally World has an assortment of colors.

goestoeleven wrote:... This may be the dumb question of the day, but . . . . What material are you using for screening / patch? What does Rev use?

A simple zig-zag will keep that tear from progressing. It's easier to change the leading edge material at the same time as you replace the screening, so don't worry about the stitching holes from the repair.

The same stuff that is used in your window screens!!! If you want a small piece find a local hardware store that does screen repair. Or, buy a roll of it at a big box store.

I went to my local Ace hardware and found the softest roll they had in the repair shop. I bought a three yard piece off that roll. Since you only need a two inch wide piece per kite, a large piece lasts a long time.

Thanks for the quick reply! I thought that it might be window screen material . . . but you never know. I was out of kiting so long I had no idea that spars are now made from carbon fiber. I actually have a roll of the screening in the garage as my son and I are planning to make some kites. I bought some theorizing that he'd design a vented (or I'd want one), since he always says the full sail pulls too hard.

goestoeleven wrote:Thanks for the quick reply! I thought that it might be window screen material . . . but you never know. I was out of kiting so long I had no idea that spars are now made from carbon fiber. I actually have a roll of the screening in the garage as my son and I are planning to make some kites. I bought some theorizing that he'd design a vented (or I'd want one), since he always says the full sail pulls too hard.

With a hole that small along the leading edge, at quick sew at the machine or even by hand should buy you some time.

Jeepster wrote:I use the same approach. To prevent the chance of creasing the kites in your suitcase, roll the kites (from side to side) up around a piece of water pipe foam.

Cheers,Tom

Great idea! Since I have a small rollaboard suitcase, I rolled up a tshirt & shorts to make a tube, then rolled the kites around the clothes "tube." That way I'm not taking up my limited suitcase space with foam. To get the kites to fit, I folded the kites in half from the bottom (tips toward leading edge), and then rolled them up. So, no folds on the leading edge at all. I love the results with the full sail kites. The only issue is folding the vented kite, but I don't think there's any way to pack that into a rollaboard without folding the venting mesh in some manner.

Now I'll have to get to work when I get home.

Last edited by goestoeleven on Thu, Dec 23 2010, 10:22 PM, edited 1 time in total.